By Matt Williams
staff writer
—
If you took a map of Massachusetts and used thumb tacks to mark the best girls soccer players by where they live, you'd run out of real estate around Route 128 pretty quickly.
Between Peabody and Danvers alone, there are no fewer than eight potential Division 1 college soccer prospects. Danvers' Becky Landers (Massachusetts) and Corey Persson (Penn State) are already committed, as is Peabody's Emily Manoogian (Colgate). Tanners senior Angela Ellison has Division 1 talent, as does Danvers senior Brittany Russo.
That doesn't even consider Hayley Dowd, the Peabody sophomore who led the state in scoring as a freshman and took unofficial visits to multiple NCAA powers this summer. Both Dowd and Persson have been to training camps with the United States Under-17 national team.
"I don't think I've ever seen this much talent in our (Northeastern) Conference in my time," said Jimmy Hinchion, the Danvers coach who has led the Falcons to three Division 2 North titles in his 11 seasons.
"You look around and there are so many probable Division 1 players. Most years in most leagues you have one or two at any given time. It's impressive."
Peabody had the first undefeated regular season in school history last year before falling in the Division 1 North finals. With essentially its entire team back, including Victoria Digiacomo (43 points) as well as defenders Cayla Bucci, Kara Digiacomo, Casey Broughton and Taylor Provost, expectations are high.
"I look at Peabody and I'd put them up there with anybody. They might be the best team in the state," said Hinchion.
The bar is just as high in neighboring Danvers, where the Falcons are coming off an undefeated regular season of their own. They fell in the state semis after winning Division 2 North and have as strong a foundation as there is.
Persson (42 goals, 55 points in an All-American season last year), Russo (38 goals) and Landers (31 assists) are fast and deadly up front. Defenders Kellie Macdonald and Gabby Vega are fierce and nearly impossible to get around, and if an opponent does goalkeeper Alison Tivnan is immense.
"I think we're really looking to win it all," said Russo, one of four captains. "The seniors really want to leave our mark; we need to work hard and we know if we do we can do anything we set our minds to."
Competition makes them better
Last season, the Tanners and Falcons played to a 5-5 draw in arguably the most exciting game of the regular season. There is even more on the line this fall because the Northeastern Conference realigned to form a power division, so the two squds will face each other twice: Sept. 28 in Peabody and Oct. 20 in Danvers. Where last year they each won the NEC Large and Small, there can only be one conference champ in 2010.
"Playing Danvers is always a tough game. There's a lot of emotion because we know so many of the girls," said Manoogian, who enters her senior season just 17 points shy of the Tanners' all-time scoring record.
"It's always good to play them and I think seeing them twice, with the other teams on our schedule, will make us better."
Both Hinchion and Peabody coach Dennis Desroches have beefed up their non-league schedules to make sure their talented teams are battle-tested for the state tourney. Danvers opens with Central Catholic this Saturday night and will play Lexington as well as Dracut, Bishop Fenwick, Andover and North Andover. The Tanners added a rematch with Acton-Boxboro in addition to two tilts with Arlington Catholic.
"We know we're going to be challenged and, based on how we finished last year, we should get everybody's best effort," said Desroches. "We want to be tested; besides us and Danvers, Swampscott, Marblehead and Salem are all very good. There's this reputation that the NEC is a weaker league and we think (the power division and the non-league schedule) will be good for the league."
"This is probably our hardest schedule in my 12 years," Hinchion agreed. "The bar has been set very high and this group will take it game by game; they know if they look ahead two games, you could lose."
One trait both the Falcons and Tanners share is selfless play, especially among their talented offenses. Manoogian — a sniper in her own right with 69 career goals — has no problem feeding Dowd and Digiacomo.
"Honestly, half my assists last year might not have been good balls, but they're both so fast they make the passes look good," said Manoogian, underestimating her own skills. "Hayley might be the fastest in the world. I've overkicked her by 40 yards and she still gets there."
The same holds true for Peabody's Ellison, a patient midfielder who controls the game but doesn't always show up on the scoresheet.
"Angie is the rock of our team," Manoogian said. "She flies under the radar but does all the dirty work; everything goes through her."
Tivnan is a similarly unsung hero in Danvers, after posting 17 shutouts in hosl a year ago.
"Tiv is a really good goalie. She's not just a girl with a good defense in front of her," Hinchion said.
Championship dreams
Of course, the headliners on both clubs are the real deal. Dowd and Persson are the returning MVPs of the NEC Large and Small, respectively, and there's no doubt that the likes of Manoogian, Russo, Landers and Digiacomo are going to put up gaudy offensive numbers.
"The key for us is we all work really well together," said Russo. "Becky and Corey know the game so well and we've been together for three years, so we know where to be and where each other wants the ball."
But championships aren't won by individuals or talent — they're won by teams. By the looks of it, both Peabody and Danvers might have a perfect mix for both.
"I don't want to jinx it, but we're hoping we can go a few games further than last year," said Manoogian. "We got so close and we have a great group; we just need to go work."
GOAL FRENZY
Peabody and Danvers have more firepower than some aircraft carriers. Here's a breakdwn of the numbers
126: Career points for Peabody's Emily Manoogian
92: Career points for Danvers' Corey Persson
63: Goals the last two seasons for Danvers' Brittany Russo
61: Points as a freshman for Peabody's Hayley Dowd
36: Combined regular season unbeaten streak both teams are riding
17: Shutouts for Danvers goalie Alison Tivnan last year
6: Combined number of 40 points scorers back from last year
3: Combined number of NEC MVP winners (Dowd and Persson in '09, Landers in '08)
